


Transformation

by Ssirius_Blackk



Series: Rumbelle fic gift exchanges [4]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/M, Rumbelle Christmas in July 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-06 09:20:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11597679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ssirius_Blackk/pseuds/Ssirius_Blackk
Summary: When Belle French, a seventh year student at Hogwarts, stumbles upon Rumplestiltskin the Imp, her whole life changes forever.





	Transformation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WizzyGold](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WizzyGold/gifts).



> For wizzygold! I'm sorry it's so short, I meant to write waaaaaayyyyyyy more but between no betas, 3 rewrites and multiple incidents at my job...it just wasn't happening. 
> 
> The prompt was: Hogwarts, potions, mind reading, fluff

**_September_ **

Belle stood still and inhaled deeply. She never felt more at home than when she wandered through the edges of Hogwarts' infamous Forbidden Forest. Although she respected and obeyed many of the rules the magic school set, Belle could never really bring herself to follow the ones concerning the forest. It was the one place where she could be herself, where she wouldn't have to worry about inadvertently using Legilimency and read someone's mind.

Belle started to walk, sighing as she remembered, as she left Ravenclaw Tower, bumping into Zelena West in the hall earlier that day and reading every thought that went through her head. They were petty and hateful, just as she always was when she spoke out loud. Negativity was a challenge for Belle to block.

But, if she was being honest with herself, trying _not_ to Legilimency was a constant challenge. And she was only relieved whenever she was around non-human creatures.

Shaking her head, Belle quickened her pace. The sound of crunching leaves and a soft breeze rustling the trees comforted and calmed her. Her pace slowed once more as she took the time to enjoy the scenery.

She stopped at the outer edge of a clearing. She could see the herd of thestrals gathered together in a tight circle. It wasn’t a particularly unusual sight, so Belle didn’t worry about it at first. She checked her bag to make sure that she had the treats she was going to give the them. Nodding in satisfaction, she closed her bag and continued walking. When Belle reached further into the clearing, she stopped in her tracks.

Standing in the middle of thestrals, petting them and apparently talking to them, was an even stranger creature then any she had ever seen in her nearly seven years at Hogwarts. It looked like a man, only she could tell immediately that it wasn’t. It had greenish gold scales, crimped hair that reached its neck and wore what looked like dragon hide. It was so otherworldly, Belle thought she was seeing things.

Belle rummaged through her bag until she pulled out a beloved copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them._ She flipped through the pages, trying to find _something_ about the weird creature. She sighed audibly in frustration when she couldn’t find what she was looking for.

The sound made the thestrals and the creature freeze and turn their attention towards her. She ignored them as she continued to search through the book.

Belle finally took notice of the stiff and still silence. Slowly, she looked up from her perusing and stared straight into the reptilian eyes of the creature. Her breath caught in her throat and in her shock, she dropped her book. Neither she nor the creature noticed as they continued to hold each other’s gaze.

“What is a human like you doing, wandering the forest unescorted?” it hissed.

Belle felt her eyes widen. She wasn’t sure what she expected, but it was certainly wasn’t hearing it speak in perfect English.

She gulped, trying to wet her suddenly dry throat. She could feel herself shake under its unrelenting gaze.

“I-I…” she stammered.

“What, dearie? What are you doing here?” it asked.

Something about the way he called her “dearie” irritated Belle. Her fear temporarily disappeared, and she stood up a little bit taller, pulled her shoulders back and tilted her chin up.

“I could ask you the same thing,” she replied.

The creature giggled and gave her a crocodile grin. It was disconcerting, but she wasn’t about to let it know that.

Belle felt something nudge her leg as it tried to get at her bag. She broke her gaze with the creature and looked down to see a baby thestral nip where the slices of meat lay hidden. With a small smile, Belle reached into her bag and pulled a piece of meat. She held her hand out towards the thestral, who sniffed around her hand before snapping the treat from her.

When she returned her attention back to the creature, it gave her an odd look.

“What?” she asked.

“How can you see them?” he wondered.

Belle shrugged. It wasn’t something she particularly liked talking or reminiscing about to anyone, let alone with a stranger.

“What are you?” she diverted the conversation.

The creature’s lips lifted in a creepy smile and he giggled. “What do you _think_ I am?”

Belle narrowed her eyes, studying the creature closely. There was something familiar about his appearance, but she couldn’t place it.

“Are you some sort of poltergeist?” she asked.

“I am most certainly _not!”_ the creature scoffed, clearly offended. “Poltergeists are crass and obnoxious. I am neither.”

“Then what are you?” Belle repeated the question.

“I am not a ‘what’ I am a ‘who’” he replied haughtily. The creature then took a step back, bowing with a great flourish. “I am an imp. And, I have a name, thank you very much.”

Belle gave it a blank look. _Imp?_

“What’s your name?” she asked.

“Rumplestiltskin, at your service,” he replied, bowing deeper.

Belle giggled and curtsied. “My name is Belle.”

 

* * *

 

 

**_January_ **

Belle trudged through the snow, shivering as she went. To keep her mind off the cold, she thought back to the months she spent sneaking off to the edge of the forest, like she was now, to meet with Rumplestiltskin.

They spent every free moment she could spare together. Their time was spent wandering through the edge of the Forest with the thestral herd, and talked about a great many things. What she loved most about their talks together was the fact that she didn’t have to worry about accidently reading his mind. She could relax and really enjoy herself and her surroundings. It was the first time since she started Hogwarts that Belle felt like she had a friend.

She had come to learn a great deal about him, and other imps as well. She learned that while they were like poltergeists by the fact that they also cause mischief and mayhem, they had more magical powers that were often used to grant desires. But, as Rumplestiltskin would constantly emphasize, they always demanded a price.

Though he never said it outright, she figured out that imps were once human, much like werewolves. Rumplestiltskin had even made passing comments about how he wished he could be human. But _how_ they became imps remained a mystery to her until she had stumbled upon a book that clearly should’ve been in the Restricted Section. It large and rectangular with a black leather cover. It didn’t have a title written anywhere, thus piquing Belle’s curiosity. As she opened the book and thumbed through a few pages, a gnawing feeling of déjà vu filled her when a crude sketch of what looked _exactly_ like Rumplestiltskin came forth. Memories of the sketch hit her like a ton of bricks as she read the inscription next to the picture:

_Like werewolves, the Imp was once human. Unlike werewolves, the curse is passed from one single holder to another by power of a crooked dagger once belonging to Merlin. Merlin had used the silver-infused dagger to contain the witch Nimue’s increasing dark magic. While it did lock and control most of her magic, it instead manifested itself in a physical transformation of the witch. She came to look like a human-like crocodile, all green-gold scales and slitted eyes. Nimue was killed two hundred years later by a wizard called Gordon by use of her dagger and thus inherited her dark magic. Through the centuries, the magic of the dagger was transferred from witch or wizard to another, changing and diluting with each older. The last known Imp is Rumplestiltskin, a Squib who allegedly was protecting his young son from being forcibly enlisted during a time of war. He killed his predecessor Zoso and used the magic to stop the war. Nothing else is known or written about Rumplestitskin since…_

Belle felt her eyes widen and her jaw slack open in shock as she read on. When Belle had finished reading the last sentence, she snapped the book shut and ran out of the library to the Forbidden Forest. She _had_ to confront Rumplestiltskin.

She finally arrived at the clearing where the thestrals huddled together, searching through the snow for something to eat. Belle looked around frantically for the imp.

“What is a tiny, frail thing like you doing out in this weather?” the familiar, high-pitched voice of Rumplestiltskin said behind her.

Belle jumped and turned to see a bemused Rumplestiltskin. His expression changed as he saw the look on her face.

“What is it, Belle?” he asked softly.

Belle wet her lips. “I know who you are now. And how you became an imp.” She answered.

Rumplestiltskin’s eyes widened. “What did you say?”

Belle took a small step closer to him. The snow started to fall faster and the wind picked up speed. She began shivering profusely as she pulled out the book and held it out to him. He hesitantly took it through her, skimming through the pages as she had before when he landed on the page about his origins.

“How did you…where did you….” He started to ask.

“I was getting some reference books for Potions when I found it,” Belle replied. “If you turn the page, there’s something I think you might be interested in.”

Rumplestiltskin gave her a curious look, but did as she asked. She saw his eyes move back and forth as he read the page.

When he looked up again, she saw in full force the human he once was.

“Does this mean what I think it means?” he wondered.

Belle nodded. “The ingredients are easy to get, except for a few of the rare herbs. But I think Professor Mills will have it in her private inventory,” she said. “But only if you want to be human again.”

Belle and Rumplestiltskin looked at each other for a long, frozen moment. Finally, he nodded.

“Do it.”

 

* * *

 

 

**_May_ **

The potion took months and months to brew. Belle felt like it wouldn’t have taken as long if Professor Mills was more trustworthy of her students. It was difficult to find a way into the private storage, but thanks to Rumplestiltskin’s magic, she was able to get it. She made the potion in the hollowed trunk of a giant tree that the imp inhabited. When she was in classes, he would add to the cauldron and stir it when needed.

In the time it took to make the potion, Rumplestiltskin offered to teach her how to better control her Legilimency. She jumped at the chance, and found his methods to be effective.

It was a warm spring day when the potion was finally completed.

Belle gave it one last stir before setting down the spoon. Her stomach fluttered as she turned to him.

“It’s ready.” She said.

Rumplestiltskin stared at her for a moment before nodding. She nodded in return and returned her attention to the potion.

She ladled out some of it into a small glass vial and handed it to Rumplestiltskin. In turn he passed the dagger to her. Belle ladled some more of the potion and poured it on the dagger. When it started to hiss and steam, Rumplestiltskin drank from the vial.

He started to cough profusely, clutching his throat. His skin started to become smoother and pink while his hair straightened and his eyes rounded and became brown. The dagger melted into the ground with only the hilt left behind.

Rumplestiltskin lay on the ground for a long time. Slowly, Belle approached him. She rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. He sat right up, looking at her with soft brown eyes.

“Rumplestiltskin?” she asked.

He looked down at his hands. Then he started moving his hands over his body and face to make sure it was real. Then he turned to Belle and smiled.

“It’s me.” He said triumphantly.

Belle returned the smile and threw his arms around him. She never felt happier than she did at that moment.

**Author's Note:**

> I would, of course, be happy to write more if asked nicely, or if I feel so inclined (especially since I did have a plot hole).


End file.
